A Question For My Hog Butchering Pal, Stormy Davis

woah ... no jack, never heard of the guy! sounds amazing! do you have it?

i ordered it yesterday because it intrigued me a great deal -- we shall see, i suppose. my fingers are crossed that it lives up to its adcopy.

i wanna hear that too.

and then im flipping through Arthur just this second and reading Coley and Moore's column, which is the Best of 2004, and they just listed it. you know if Arthur wasn't free I would never buy it. THE 60S ARE OVER.

don't let Shakey Mo hear you say that!

yeah, I can't believe I've never heard of this Wolf guy. I'll ask some rekkerd collekter friends around town what they know... I definitely think I'll order that thing myself.

Will Alan Moore and Grant Morrison cast accursed spells on me for knocking Arthur?

so has anyone heard this yet?

Can we make this the "Ask Stormy" thread please?

Stormy,

On April 29, 2003 on ILX (under the name "Mr. Diamond"), you made the following statement with regard to the early Bob Seger singles:

"'Persecution Smith'" is the best tune of the early lot, sort of his take on "Tombstone Blues."

My question for you is whether you are still willing to assert that "Persecution Smith" is better than "East Side Story" or "Vagrant Winter."

Thx. - T.

holy cow --- jack, thanks for that link!! that actually makes me want to go to that EMP wankfest! I would TOTALLY love to see a presentation on the musicology of ? and the Mysterians, and the link to Latino culture, etc.

Dude, when they got back together about 6 or 7 years ago for a reunion tour it was completely awesome!! I never bought that thing on Norton, although I heard good things about it. I went to see them though when they played Chicago, at the Empty Bottle. It was amazing!! They played "96 Tears" TWICE -- it was hilarious. They played it like 5th or 6th song into the set ... and then they came out and played it again for the encore!! Like, why the fuck not, you know? I mean, everyone there wants to hear that song, so why the hell NOT just go ahead and play the damn thing TWO TIMES during your set?! hahaha, gotta love them. Plus that show was all ORIGINAL MEMBERS! can you believe that? In this day and age when random chancers like Creedence Clearwater Revisited [sic] or The Temptations (featuring a everyone who HASN'T died + a bunch of fill-ins) or whatever, the fact that ? and the Mysterians had ALL ORIGINAL MEMBERS was totally awesome to me...

It was great; I talked to ? after the show and I told him I grew up in Adrian Michigan, and he knew of the town, he was like, "oh yeah, we played a couple sock-hops there in the 60s" !! great guy. he gave me a card and signed the back of it. total thrill for me.

hey Tim!!

yeah at this point i think i DO still hold "Persecution Smith" in higher regard than "East Side Story". "Persecution Smith" was a "Tombstone Blues" rip, but "East Side Story" was a "Gloria" rip!! And I think, in the grand scheme of things, looking back with the eyes of hindsight and whatnot, it was a way cooler move to rip off the nascent SYMBOLIST bob of "Tombstone Blues" than it was to rip off the three chord monty of Van and the boys on "Gloria". Because everyone did the latter, and only a few intrepid souls had yet dipped their toes into the water of the former.

But god yes, Seger rules.

Stormy,

B-b-b-but, "East Side Story" is not just a "Gloria" ripoff. Turning "Gloria" into this gnarly crime drama was much more of an anomaly than a Dylan ripoff, no? And the song is so tightly constructed that it harkens back to early '60s tragedy songs while, at the same time, being much more shocking and explicit, such that it ALSO predates more explicit songs about urban strife from the later '60s and '70s.

In other words, it's one of the greatest records ever.

That's not to say that I don't think "Persecution Smith" is a GREAT Dylan ripoff, by the way.

"Vagrant Winter" is another matter...

"Vagrant Winter" is really not that good, if I recall correctly. Is that what you were implying? cuz I would tend to agree. The other early stuff is good though, like "Heavy Music". Have you heard that song "Lucifer"? that's another good one. From Mongrel. and of course, "2+2=?" is probably the best of all.

But I like what you wrote about "East Side Story". it IS a great song. It's the kind of story that's straight out of Springsteen's (later) Nebraska.

stormy,

how large is your penis record collection?

amateurist

NO DOOD "VAGRANT WINTER" IS GOTHIC PSYCH GARAGE DEMENTIA OF ABSOLUTELY MUSIC MACHINE-LIKE PROPORTIONS!!!

Amateurist, my penis is basically your average everyday penis. Certainly nothing to write home about. The record collection is pretty big, yeah, something like 7 or 8 thousand maybe? but for me it's honestly not about having the most toys or anything like that. I'm old, so I've just been at it for a long time. I just really really love tons and tons of music. I can find value in most things. my biggest problem on ILM seems to occur when I brush up against folx who don't seem to share the PASSION.

ok, Tim, I will listen to "Vagrant Winter" again and report back; it's been a while since I've spun that one. You certainly make it sound great!!

Do you have the original 45?!?! Because if you do then play the flipside, too!

yeah, I do have it -- "Very Few" was the B-side? honestly I can't remember a thing about that one. so it will be like listening for the first time again! yay!

Daerest Stormy,

Were you at the Michael Mayer show at SmartBar a few weeks back? Were you standing/dancing on the right side by yourself? If so, should I have said hi?

Kindest regards,

Jaymc

Indeed. "Very Few."

I was at the Mayer show, yes. Right side? yeah, I guess I more or less stayed over there I think. I wasn't exactly by myself, I was hanging out with ILM poster Tricky Disco and a couple other peeps. Sure, I mean, you could have said hi, I don't bite -- um, I'm not sure how exactly you would know who I am or what I look like tho?? That seems kind of stalkerish to me, I dunno. Because I don't think I've posted a pic (well, not of my cat) to ILx in some time.

Hmmm, okay, maybe it was you, maybe it wasn't. I have seen your photo on the popular Internet website Friendster.

ah yes, friendster. I don't have anything against posting a pic to the picture threads mind you, i just don't have any recent ones. maybe I'll get someone to take one this weekend.

dearest stormy,

do you look anything like this:

http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/d/davis_tyron_withoutyo_101b.jpg

amateurist

whoa! speaking of that popular internerd website friendster, uh, not to be stalkerish or anything, just curious, stormy, we have more connections than just through ILM. weird. did you know a girl named Patty? she used to live in chicago, but now lives in SF and used to date one of my super close friends. she knows a bunch of your friends.

I wish!! I do often share his desire to "turn back the hands of time".

dearest stormy,

then, do you look anything like this:

http://www.uh.edu/engines/jefdavis.jpg

amateurist

actually, i kinda look like jefferson davis

whoops that first reply was to amateurist.

JaXoN, no I don't recall ever meeting Patty. Cutie though! It appears she is friends with all of my dance scene friends. Maybe I did meet her at some point, hmmm.

No, I don't think I resemble JD. More like Ulysses S Grant a little, except without the beard. I certainly share his predilection for strong liquids anyway.

Daerest Stormy Davis,

Should I buy an Alton Brown DVD? What is your favorite DVD?

xo
Ian

"dance scene"?

Chic-a-go-go?!

Ian,

haha dude I totally want to buy the Alton Brown DVDs!! I mean you're talking to a guy who often takes notes when he watches "Good Eats". My favorite is the tea one. I learn so damn much from that show. Although he sometimes goes a little overboard with like micromanaging every damn step involved in some recipe. Dude is INTENSE.

gosh .. these days my favorite DVD is this Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 2 DVD i just got. I've never had so many ROFFLES in my life!! I don't know what it is about that show but it cracks my shit up. And I never really was a big Seinfeld guy. I mean, I liked Seinfeld but I wasn't rabid about it.

JaXoN, i was just being goofy with that, what i mean is, these days I usually only see that group of people if I'm at a club or something..

whatever dude

http://www.exclusivelythemed.co.uk/Helena%20Glowsticks%20full1.jpg

Haha Jack I just finally clicked on your link. I submitted a paper proposal for the conference this year to do a presentation on this paper I wrote a few years ago on the post-punk/new wave revival where I demonstrate with staff notation how Beautiful Skin ripped off songs from Joy Division and Wire and how the Rapture ripped off a Television song (plus other related stuff!).

Didn't get picked ; (

i mean not all the emp stuff sounds like shit, but most of it does. i mean the whole tejano or whatever influence in the mysterians vis a vis the organ could be interesting -- the identity politics, however, snooze snooze. plus, i dont think the mysterians really hid their ethnicity that much -- i mean, hell, if you can't tell they're not good upstanding caucasoid americans from their promo photos, yooz got problems.

write a paper on the use of "mary had a little lamb" in ? and the Mysterians' "I Need Somebody"

is it ok, mr davis, to like Inner Dialogue and Moggi, more than the stooges and mc5?

we were in a special place when we said, about the sandpipers, that we felt a feeling

hey stormy:

i got the HE6 reissue on Beatball. pretty great Korean early 70s psych with plenty of fuzz, organ and drum solos. methinks you and tim might like.

http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/he.6.html

love,
jc

gareth, sure it's ok. I certainly wouldn't do it, but I tend to favor funky freejazz- and improv- inflected freaks and longhairs from Detroit over just about anything in the omniverse. Actually been rediscovering High Time the last few weeks. Nothing is true, everything is permitted -- I learned that once on acid.

JC,
wow, never heard of dose guyz. Looks great though! Just when you think the reissue veins are all tapped out, along comes another label with a slew of unearthed gems. It's madness, I tell ya...

Best wishes,
SD

I got these three original LPs by San Ul Lim off some guy in Seoul on eBay about three or four years ago for only sixty bones. There's a track by them on the Asian Love, Peace and Poetry volume, if you've got that. They were like the late '70s male Korean Shonen Knife (wearing matching suits as sort of a goofy Beatlemania move) but with tons of gnarly fuzztone grinding!

Stormy,

Can't believe that you said you prefer Moby Grape's Wow to We're Only in it for the Money! And the first Traffic album, too? (Are you talking about the British version of this album?)

Tim

Tim,

Just going from memory, We're Only In It For The Money is not a brotally great record or anything. It's been a while since I heard it though. I've never owned it. I checked it out from my college radio station 'back in the day'. But I'm also totally not a knee-jerk Zappa hater. currently I own Freak Out, Absolutely Free, Hot Rats, and Bongo Fury. although I basically own the latter two specifically for the Don Van Vliet contributions. that's just the kind of guy I am. "hot rats!!!!!!"

But fuck yeah Moby Grape rules, even Wow. Traffic too. I love the self-titled album! "Vagabond Virgin" and "Forty Thousand Headmen" are totally great psych tracks. Traffic doesn't get enough love. There was a recent thread about Traffic on ILM that a grand total of FIVE people responded to! This is why ILM generally sucks! Lots of real dumb people on there who don't own all the Traffic albums like they should. I've been totally freaking out to "Paper Sun" the last few days. Best psych track ever.

Best,
-Rob

Tim, are you seriously not down with the likes of FUNKY-TUNK??!!

MURDER IN MY HEART FOR THE JUDGE!

Stevie Winwood had such a pretty voice, he really did. And I love Dave Mason's stuff. heck, I love Dave Mason's solo stuff!! You'd be hard pressed to find a better song than "Only You Know and I Know". I cherish my Blue Thumb original of his first solo joint, lemme tellya. And the Traffic dudes played on Electric Ladyland!! and Chris and Dave played on that Experience movie soundtrack Royal Albert Hall thing with Hendrix. Got that thing blew my mind as a kid? "Smashing of the Amps"?? Are you kidding me?? Sonic Youth was nothing when I finally got around to hearing them.

"Paper Sun" has a total motorik beat in the verse. Insane. so so good. I just think the classic Traffic line-up was able to effortlessly cover so much ground, songwriting-wise. "Coloured Rain" sounds like a Chicago/BST song, "Heaven Is In Your Mind" is total blasted psych, "Feelin' Alright" is singalong hippie of the finest order, "Giving to You" is ZAPPA-esque jazz parody. They RULED.

OH DUDE PAPER SUN RULES GODDAMN STORMY MIND MELD AGAIN.

Capaldi was a good drummer, wan't he? I definitely like some of that album -- just not sure I like it more than the Mothers album. (Then again, I have the chopped up U.S. version: the Dear Mr. Fantasy album on United Artists.) I didn't really like Wow much. "Motorcycle Irene," obviously. That song "He" is OK. I'm forgetting "Funky Tunk" -- an instrumental?

Peace-out.

T.

Stormy,

You have heard White Heaven, no doubt? I had not heard them, but I got Tokyo Flashbacks 3 yesterday and their track has this RIPPING Cippolina style guitar. Not just a jam band or heavy rock improv band either - it's a great song.

Tim

Oh yeah, I love White HEaven!! Yeah, that song is great -- "Midsummer Stroll", right? Totally like a slight tweaking of "Silver and Gold" from the first QMS lp -- but with added vocals, of course. That song is also on their totally awesome Next To Nothing lp, which also has a real nice version of "The Look of Love". Not as great as Isaac Hayes's version, but what is....

But yeah, one reason I love White Heaven is Kurihara's obvious Cipollina homage ... you know he's in Ghost now, right? I know you were a big fan of the last Ghost record. I have a ton of Kurihara related stuff I could rip for you ... rare White Heaven stuff, Ha-Za-Ma, Marble Sheep, etc. I got your email, by the way, Tim. I will reply shortly!

I just came back from Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson... awesome show. Willie really stole this one. I'd never seen him before. So so good. The AURA was heavy. He is a work of art in an age of mechanical reproduction...

I didn't know that was Kurihara! Awesome.

stormy, have you heard Larry Coryell's band The Free spirits first album "Out of sight and Sound"? it's a heavy jazzin, heavy rockin psych album. pre fusion stuff. it's got Jim Pepper (writer of the amazing "Witchi-Tai-To") on sax, and there's some sitar and flute.

it's downloadable in it's entirety here. http://www.wasaexpress.com/ (the Fusion Rarities link on the right).

a few weeks ago i picked up the first wasa express album. they're a swedish prog group who have moments of hard bohannon/talking heads funk. i was reading some blog and the guy from wasa express posted in the comments and left a link to his site. very weird.

Hey Jaxon! No way, never even heard of that Coryell group! It looks great though. I will commence downloading that sucker at once. The first thing I have from him is that Vanguard album -- "Free Spirits" I believe is the title? You know the one, with all the Miles guys on it, basically. Never heard of this earlier stuff, looks amazing. Don't know the Wasa either -- will investigate, thanx for the tip!

wasa is ok. kinda wanky, but those few moments of funk kick ass. prolly not worth the money i spent on it.

stormy d:

dick's picks, POV.

love,
ian

ha! I don't think I actually own 5 Dick's Picks, believe it or not! I definitely own 4 though. Volume 4, which I heartily recommend, probably the best of all. It's what finally convinced me to investigate the Dead a little further. Great show at the Fillmore (and then pick up the companion set Bear's Choice which was originally released on Warner Bros, taken from the same set of shows). I'd also say Volume 8, the infamous "Harpur College" set, with the first disc of the three-disc set being a great all-acoustic set. hmmm... that one I was listening to last night, Volume 26 from '69, featuring a Aoxoamaoxoa-dominated set, is pretty hot too; I even found myself enjoying almost the entirety of the "Turn on Your Lovelight"! That doesn't happen too often!

A lot of the best live stuff isn't just on the DPs tho. Like, I'd definitely put Two From the Vault up there with DP 4. For live stuff, I'd probably go like--

1 Dick's Picks 4
2 Two From the Vault
3 Ladies and Gentlemen .. the Grateful Dead (4 CD set of Fillmore stuff from '72 -- it's great and usually sells pretty cheap)
4 Dick's Picks 8
5 Live at Fillmore East 2-11-69 (not a Dick's Picks, just a straight-up 2CD live set that came out a few years back, also very Aoxoamaoxoa dominated)

If you like their straight-up freakout phase, there are some great loud feedback-laden moments on Two From the Vault and toward the end of DP 8 on the awesome "Viola Lee Blues" on there..

plus that leaves out good stuff like Reckoning, which is a must if you like their acoustic/country/folk type stuff (and if you like that Harpur College 1st disc), all the great live stuff on the So Many Roads box, etc.

is it ok to like solo Roger Water albums?

The man builds albums around audiophilia and buying new tech to record.

Stormy, what is your absolute favorite moment on "Exile"? I think for me it's on "Loving Cup" when they come out of the bridge into the "beautiful buzz" part, and you hear Mick say "one more time", and they repeat it. It's really great.

Hi Keith! Fave moment on Exile?? Wow! You sure like to ask the tough ones.

I'm going with Al Perkins's solo on "Torn and Frayed", that big rising slide that initiates it. I love it so much.

"Loving Cup" is completely phenomenal as well of course. It used to be my favorite on the album. I used to play it back in high school whenever I was all gooey over a girl. I always thought Mick sang "what a beautiful face" not "buzz". You know, because he'd "seen her face dancing in the flame" and so on. But yeah, that's the best part of the song. "Nitty! Gritty!" When I saw the White Stripes play back in August, the first post-set music that they piped into the auditorium after the show was over and the lights came on, was "Loving Cup"!! It was awesome. Also, they played it really at top volume, it was like almost as loud as the concert. I just sat there in my seat with a big grin on my face singing along. I looked over and there was this cute girl, seemingly by herself, who was also singing along. It was great. I feel so bad for not getting her number or something but I was completely annihilated and ... I dunno, decided against it or something. It's the only time in my life I've thought about filing one of those "missed connections" things...

Other favorites of course the "oh yeah", "the sunshine bores the daylights out of me", Mick Jagger's backing vocals on "Happy", Keith Richards's backing vocals on every other song; that big sax/trumpet flourish after the "I need a sanctified girl with a sanctified mind" part , after teh first verse on "All Down the Line", the horn lines behind "be my little baby for a while", Charlie on "Ventilator Blues" and Nicky's soloing on the long outro...

SIMPLY THE BEST!!

JaXoN ACKSHUN -- I did not see your earlier question .. um, I dunno man, I don't see why they couldn't be good but I can't say I've ever dipped my piggy in those Waters. I'm sure you would be safe in getting Roger Waters solo albums as long as they are co-billed with RON GEESON. You can totally preserve cred if you do that. My friend had a tape of that thing back in middle school when we were both massive Floyd heads, but I haven't heard it in probably 17 years at least! I bet it's still good tho. I will probably pick it up again myself some day.

You should totally investigate the two David Gilmour solo albums tho, I can totally vouch for those. I never bought the second one, but "Murder" and "Blue Light" were the hits and they are great tunes. The first album is a really great, nice gentle but creepy vibe, about half-instrumental and half songs featuring his great voice...

Right on, Stormy!! I thought I'd bring it up because I saw your excellent post on the "vinyl" thread about the pedal steel solo on "Torn & Frayed"--always loved that.

I used to play in a bar band and we did "Loving Cup", it was always a crowd pleaser (heh, "crowd"). Of course when I listen to the original now I realize how much we butchered it. That vamp at the end with the horns ("gimmie little drink") is almost *too* much! They have already destroyed you with the song and then they bring in the big guns at the end, it's just insane.

Another part that always kills me is on "Shake Your Hips", I think in the last verse--Keith kicks it up an extra notch with the rhythm he's playing, starts playing a little louder, more accented than before, it sounds like it's going to go off the rails but they pull it back in just in time. They were masters of the universe on this record!

rob,

you know i woulda totally gone home with you after this dj set, right?

j

Dusties set I did a couple weeks ago-

Brass Construction - "The Message"
Andy Bey - "Experience"
Eugene McDaniels - "Freedom Death Dance"
Hubert Laws - "School's Out"
African Music Machine - "Camel Time"
Afrique - "Hot Mud"
Bobby Bryant - "A Prayer For Peace"
The 13th Floor - "Sweet Lovely Girl"
The Lords of Percussion - "The Kung-Fu"
Johnny Frigo - "Do Whatever Sets You Free"
Johnny Hammond - "Gambler's Life"
Reverberi - "Escalation"
Faze-O - "Riding High"
Bed Sidran - "And Now I Live (And Now My Life is Done)"
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - "Real Mother For Ya"
Macho - "Mucho Macho, Part 1"
Marc Moulin - "Temse"
Demis Roussos - "Love Got a Hold on Me"
Chic - "My Feet Keep Dancing"
LTG Exchange - "Corazon"
Roy Ayers - "Life is Just a Moment"
Ice - "M.F. Grayson"
Madhouse - "Get Some of This"
Bill 'Butterball' Crane - "Steppin' Tall"
The South Suburban Electric Strings - "Sign of the Zodiac"
Rufus Thomas - "Do the Funky Penguin"
B.W. Souls - "Marvin's Groove"
The Beginning of the End - "Come Down"
Miami - "Chicken Yellow (Let Me Do It to You)"
The Emotions - "Blind Alley"
Rusty Bryant - "Fire Eater"
Eddie Henderson - "Inside Out"
Jimmy McGriff - "Fat Cakes"
Donald Byrd - "Slop Jar Blues"
Webster Lewis - "Do You Believe"

-- Broheems (electrifyingmoj...), February 9th, 2004 7:06 PM. (diamond)

yo, stormy, you ever heard Todd Tamanend Clark? Anopheles is reissuing some of his stuff and Karl Ikola is a pretty reliable in regards to taste.

I'm looking forward to that. Anopheles has an email list now, too, if ya didn't know - Karl sells tons of reissue stuff.

have you heard this guys stuff, tim? whatz it like? also, karl is a great guy.

No, I haven't. Just looking forward to it based on the description.

ha, yeah JaXoN I used to love doing that show! I used to do a show with that kind of stuff every week but I haven't done it for a few years now. I was just doing a fill-in show when I posted that playlist, but it felt good to be back in the saddle again.

JC, funny you aks -- I was just looking at that Homestead & Wolfe reissue on the FE site the other day. I still don't have it. I know a lot of people have raved about it. Must get it soon. Totally right on about Ikola, he's got awesome taste; Debris and Twinkeez were seriously like my two favorite largely unknown/unheard records from the great 70s underground .... and he reissued both of them! What a prince.

i'm on an email list that he occasionally posts to and he always entertains with stories of vinyl-hunting, rare record arcana, factoids and stories from the Sacto underground, etc. He seems like a good guy. He defended my pal Stan D3nski when Byron was picking on him for some stupid reason. And he's originally from Michigan, so he's a bro.

oh, and no, I haven't heard the Todd Tamanend Clark. Very much want to, though!

Karl Ikola, do I recognize that name from back-in-the-day droneon list?

He was probably on that list, yeah. I was never on it, and dunno how big into S3 and the like he is, but he's a massive fan of all that Cali psych stuff: Dream Syndicate, Opal, Rain Parade, etc.

yeah Karl has been a member of drone on. He prob still is. hard to tell as the list is sorta dead.